1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved instant messaging system, and in particular, the present invention relates to a computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for providing instant messaging users with an alarm to remind the users of an event or to re-join an instant messaging chat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Instant messaging is an online chat medium, allowing users to communicate with each other and to collaborate in real-time over a network data processing system. Instant messaging is commonly used over the Internet. Instant messaging applications monitor and report the status of users that have established each other as online contacts. This information is typically presented to a user in a window. Instant messaging applications also are often used by users conducting business. By utilizing instant messaging, business users can view each other's availability and initiate a text conversation with colleagues or customers when a desired contact becomes available. Millions of users communicate using instant messaging systems every day. With instant messaging becoming an important part of both personal and business communications, functionality and usability enhancements are important to the continued success of this type of communication tool.
Existing instant messaging systems provide users with chat windows that allow the users to communicate in real-time. A chat window provides an interface for a user to input text and send messages to other users. Users may also communicate with each other and agree to participate in future events, such as attending a meeting in 30 minutes or going to lunch in 5 minutes. The users may continue to work or perform other tasks in the meantime. Consequently, when the agreed upon times of 5 or 30 minutes has passed, the users may be too distracted in their current activities to realize that the time has passed. Thus, a user may miss or be late to the scheduled meeting, or the users may not actually go to lunch until much later.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for overcoming the deficiencies in the existing art by providing a mechanism for providing instant messaging users with an alarm to remind the users of an event or to re-join an instant messaging chat.